The invention relates to a cooking rack for use on a cooking surface. In this respect, stove tops and ovens on many vehicles are often bounced about; and, during stormy weather, seagoing vessels are often tossed at sea. In such instances, it is difficult to cook as the pots and pans placed on a stove top or in an oven tend to tip over. Moreover, cooks in such instances are often severely burned by the contents of the pots and the like. Hence, it is important to ensure that such utensils do not move when placed on a cooking surface. Accordingly, the instant invention provides a cooking rack that securely holds a cooking utensil, such as a pot or pan, on the cooking surface during such bouncing and turbulence. In this manner, the contents of the utensils are retained so that there is a reduction in the possibility of injury to the attending cooks.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,550,580 to Wong discloses a movable tray for use with an oven. Movable tray 15 has a plurality of perforations 18 therein and is supported on an existing oven grill 3 by means of wheels 21,22 and roller 25. Chains 50 and 51 are secured to the tray 15 and grill 3 to prevent the tray from moving more than a predetermined distance. This type of tray does not provide any means to prevent movement of a cooking utensil placed on the tray.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,290,572 to Rakov discloses a stove utility drawer. Stove 1 is provided with a compartment 4 in which a drawer 5 is mounted. This drawer may be pulled forward. Shelf 16 is disposed in the drawer and is provided with a plurality of openings 21 of different shapes and sizes for receiving the lower portions of dishes of corresponding shapes and sizes. Such a shelf, however, cannot accommodate cooking utensils that do not fit in the openings 21. Additionally, the shelf cannot be used with existing ovens and stove tops without considerable modification.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,520,133 to Donovan discloses an oven rack. The rack has a series of apertures 17 for the convection and the radiation of heat from the bottom to the top of the oven. This type of oven rack does not secure cooking utensils to the rack to prevent them from sliding or tipping.
In view of the foregoing, it is an object of the present invention to create an improved cooking rack that is simple to manufacture, but still prevents an item being cooked from sliding, tipping or falling and injuring a cook.
An advantage of the invention is that it does not require alteration to the cooking surface upon which the utensils are to be placed; and, can easily be used to retrofit existing ovens or stoves.
Another advantage of the present invention is that it is capable of easily accommodating cooking utensils of various sizes. Moreover, a single rack of the invention can be used to retain utensils that can be selectively located either above or below the rack.
Still another advantage of the invention is that it prevents water and greases from spilling and causing fires and/or necessitating replacement of expensive parts.